From 2019–2023E, approximately $5.2 trillion in global value will be at risk from cyber attacks, according to a report from accenture, creating an ongoing challenge for corporations and investors alike.

Attackers can be driven by political, ethical, financial or social incentives. With every industry seeing a rise in both the number and cost of attacks, no one is excluded from risk. Cyber crime will remain a large scale concern and challenge for business both today and in years to come.

Everyone can do something to mitigate the risk of cyber crime to their business, it has been said that prevention is often better than a cure.

Below are some simple steps you might want to consider adopting and sharing with your team to help prevent you and your business from becoming a victim of cyber crime.

Think before you click – Clicking without thinking is reckless.  Just because you can click, doesn’t mean you should!  Malicious links can do damage in several different ways, so be sure to inspect links and ensure they are from trusted senders before clicking.

Stick to your own devices – try to limit the devices you use and never share your credentials with others.

Be aware of your surroundings – keep an eye on your device.  Lock it when you step away from your computer and never leave sensitive or confidential items at your desk e.g. post-it notes with your password written on them.

Keep track of your digital footprint – can you recall everywhere you have online accounts and what information is stored on them? Do you store credit card numbers for easier payments?  It important to keep track of your digital footprint, including social media accounts where information can be stored. Remember to delete accounts you are not using.

Recommended Password Complexity

• Use passwords of at least eight characters or longer – the more characters you use, the more difficult a password is to crack.
• Use numbers, lowercase letters, uppercase letters and symbols in your password.
• Each password should be unique to each service – bank account, work password, do not use the same password for everything.
• Passphrases are much easier to remember than passwords and allows you to add complexity to your password.

Bad Passwords

• Awesomedog1
• Sunshine12

Good Passphrase

• May1the2force3be4with5you6!
• G0 @h3@d, M@k3 My Day!
• TH3r3’5 n0 pL@c3 l1K3 h0m3_

Never connect to an unsecured connection There is often free Wi-Fi in a restaurant, coffee shops and hotels, in order to access you may need to tick a box, this usually waivers your right to privacy.  If you are working on anything that you wouldn’t want others to access do not use free Wi-Fi. It is not recommended for any business purposes. If you need to access information remotely tether your device to your mobile phone and use 4G.

We recognise that cyber security issues can be a struggle, however research and statistics suggest a huge increase in hacked and breached data from sources that are increasingly common in the workplace, like mobile and IoT devices.  Most companies have unprotected data and poor cyber security practices in place, making them vulnerable to data loss. To successfully fight against malicious intent, it’s imperative that companies make cyber security awareness, prevention and security best practises a part of their culture.

Get in touch to talk to one of our team. We would be happy to discuss your business and current IT infrastructure and explore together any key areas for development. Our experts are on hand to help deliver a range of cyber security services including training and testing to help make life better for you and your team.

Contact us to find out more about how we can mitigate risk, protect against security vulnerabilities and secure your business data today.

At Outsource our people–centric workplace has a culture that focuses on employees. A hard-working culture backed up by creativity, ambition and energy, but which involves putting people front and centre of everything it does, and in an innovative way.

At Outsource our success is linked with that of our customers which at its most basic level means “If you are not happy, we are not happy”.

Everything we do is about delivering Managed IT Services and Security solutions that will “make life better” for you.

Our team is made of the best people who all have the ‘Outsource DNA’ which incorporates three major factors which are trust, integrity and fairness.

We put our expertise and experience to work for you. 

At Outsource our people are valued. Our services are underpinned by deep expertise, a robust process and grant access to a comprehensive range of solutions including some of the world’s leading technology providers. Our diverse team is made up of creative thinkers, who are brave in their approach and passionate about making a difference. Everyone on our dynamic team is excellent at what they do.  Together they deliver platinum services to a wide range of industry and business users across NI, ROI, GB & Europe, often exceeding customer expectations by going above and beyond to create bespoke solutions to allow their business to function at it’s best.

We deliver peace of mind. We understand how important your business assets are to you and we work with you and your people to deliver the best experience and tangible results. For 20 years we have been safeguarding our clients’ assets, in many our technology expertise has enabled them to secure their future from one generation to the next. You can have confidence that your business, your people and your personal data are in safe hands with us.

If you want to find out more about how we can help you and your business just get in touch.  Our team are happy to help. https://osgroup.co.uk/contact/

Outsource is TWENTY! A milestone that not every business achieves and one that says a lot about the man behind the company, our CEO, Terry Moore.

Terry recently had a conversation with John Mulgrew about the milestone – below is just a snippet of what he had to say. Check out the January edition of Ulster Business magazine to find out even more, or read online here: https://www.ulsterbusiness.com/articles/2020/01/20/outsource-twenty-years-on-and-with-the-future-on-the-horizon

Outsource Solutions is a firm which is ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging technologies and a company which embeds itself in a client’s business to ensure total integration, ultimately helping to boost it and enable growth.

“Our approach is to take IT out of the boardroom,” Terry says, “What we do is to try to get ahead of some of the problems, understand the business and recognise that technology is there to benefit the company. We are there to make sure that business is possible, enriching lives, making things better and safer.  An important part of this is the relationships that we have.”

Terry formed around the time of the so-called ‘millennium bug’ when he said some firms were using scare tactics to get businesses to spend often hundreds of thousands of pounds, often unnecessarily.

“For me one of the things I felt was missing was understanding a business and factoring that refresh into it over a few years – removing barriers and letting them get on with what they do. Our job is to enhance, improve and optimise the performance for as many users as we can. Our aim over the next four years is to be able to deliver those services outside Northern Ireland, across the rest of the UK and into the Republic of Ireland.”

“For us, the constant is that we are always there at that point of where technology is consumed. The role we play is being integrated and a trusted advisor. That’s how we will continue to be successful.”

Predictions For The Next 20 Years

With a rise in automation and artificial intelligence – something Terry says has to become a little more intelligent and a little less artificial – the next major leap will be the advent of quantum computing. It’s something which remains in its infancy.

“While it’s still early, we are on the verge of the most aggressive technological change that any of us have ever seen,” he says

New decade, new approach is a statement that has appeared in various media platforms over the past few days as N.Ireland political leadership have agreed a collective commitment to making politics work for the people.

What about the decade we have just left behind? Are you aware of the various technological changes that have changed and transformed our world?

This week Outsource will celebrate 20 years in business and during that time there has been a lot of change.

Mobile phones were only just emerging and gaining popularity in 2000, they were used only to make calls and people thought they were really advanced when they could be used to send text messages or play snake!

Using the phone and internet together was not an option. You had to wait until a call had finished to dial up and access the information needed,  most people 20 years ago used the internet for work or school purposes. Today it is estimated that over 4.33 billion active internet users worldwide. 57 percent of the entire world’s population has internet access. There are 3.9 billion unique mobile internet users worldwide, which makes up 51 percent of the global population.

In the year 2000 we still went to a local shop to hire videos to watch movies rather than stream them via on demand or subscription services like we do today.  We had no option but to watch the advertisements and had to make sure someone was at home to press record at the right time if we didn’t want to miss out favourite TV programme.

Business have been massively impacted by technological change. Our always on and always connected world gives us access to almost everything we need 24/7 giving business greater influence and access to wider and global market. It can also make it difficult to go completely off the grid, with people struggling to incorporate any downtime into their lifestyles.

20 years ago business leaders primarily communicated in person or by phone, and when on the road they had to stop to use payphones if something needed urgent attention. Today business leaders are expected to write letters, send emails, create proposals, tweet in less than 140 characters, update on LinkedIn, connect and present to prospective customers, appear on company video channels, be comfortable appearing on a video conferencing calls, and be prepared to sit down for an interview with the local press or media and speak to groups of employees. The emphasis is on business leaders to connect and communicate effectively on whatever platform or method the customer or consumer expects.

Technology allows people to connect from different locations easily, share information, access data and collaborate to creatively solve problems and develop solutions. Less paper is involved with invoices being sent via email, payments being processed via online transactions, CRM systems containing vital information and all data being hosted, stored and backed up in the cloud.  File rooms, stores and reams of paper are a thing of the past. Some business’ are making the choice to use virtual offices and abandoning designated office space altogether, they instead meet when and where necessary at a place with access to secure Wi-Fi, helping them reduce overall costs and giving their employees access to flexible work and home working options.

Innovation in technology is rapidly developing and will continue to change how businesses operate over the next 20 years. However, the majority of business would still agree that their employees are their greatest asset. Technology doesn’t always work in the way that it should or is even designed too, there are always inevitable challenges, as one area impacts another.  Technology can’t read our minds yet, and until it does, humans need humans to understand them and then use technology to help provide a solution. There are some problems only a human can solve.

What will the next 20 years bring?

A lot more change and if futurists are to be believed that change will be at a speed that some of us may struggle to get our heads around.  Ian Pearson, a futurist with an 85% accuracy record, has said we can expect to see drones making deliveries, space trips to Mars and clothing that could give people access to super human skills.

Whatever emerges you can guarantee that our team at Outsource will continue to explore possibilities, uncover potential and develop solutions that will make your life and your business better.

Get in touch to find out more about how we can help your business today and prepare you for the future ahead.